Final pro hockey game in Flint may have been played Thursday — if anyone cares

View full sizeHollyn Johnson | The Flint JournalMascot General Rally entertains the fans during what could be the final pro hockey game in Flint.

FLINT, Michigan — I felt compelled to show up at Perani Arena Thursday night.

As usual, not many others did.

Bill Khan

Yes, there was playoff hockey to be watched. At any level, it doesn’t get any better than postseason hockey.

But it was more a sense of nostalgia that drew me to Game 4 of the first-round series between the Flint Generals and Muskegon Lumberjacks.

It is possible that Thursday’s game — a 5-2 Muskegon victory — could be the final professional hockey game ever played at the old barn on the corner of Lapeer and Averill.

Let that sink in — the last game.

Pro hockey has been played at the venue formerly known as IMA Sports Arena since 1969, with the lone exception being the 1990-91 season. Players like Bob Perani, Gilles Meloche, Doug Manchak, John Cullen, Mike Richter and Kevin Kerr have made a living skating for Flint teams.

There have been three championships to savor in the 40 seasons that Flint has had pro hockey teams.

The Generals will not only being fighting to stay alive in the playoffs when they visit Muskegon Saturday night, trailing this series three games to one, but will be trying to extend the life of the franchise at least one more home game.

View full sizeHollyn Johnson | The Flint JournalA fan dressed as a green alien taunts Muskegon's John DiPace, who is in the penalty box.My favorite memories of pro hockey in Flint have been the nights when the arena was packed to see the Generals play in the finals against Thunder Bay in 1996 and Quad City in an epic Game 6 double-overtime loss that gave the Mallards the title.

There has been tradition, there has been glory, there have been heroes.

In recent years, however, there has been mediocrity and there has been resentment of team and arena management by the Flint fan base. That resentment eventually morphed into the one thing no team wants from the paying public — apathy.

Fans in Flint simply quit caring about the Generals long ago. They finally got a team worth caring about in the past two months, as the Generals went 13-6-1-0 in the final 20 games to grab an unlikely playoff berth. However, less than 1,000 bodies were in the seats of the 4,021-seat arena for Game 4 of what has been an exciting playoff series. A crowd of 1,592 was announced, but that's accurate only if they're counting butt cheeks.

The team that everyone seems to have given up on hasn’t given up on itself. Not even after falling behind 2-0 through one period Thursday night. The Generals quickly got back into it on goals by Pascal Rheaume and John Ronan 26 seconds apart in the first 1:31 of the second period.

The Generals did everything but put the puck in the net during a power play a short time later. They carried the play much of the second period, but it was Muskegon that broke the deadlock when David Rohlfs backhanded a rebound past Rob Nolan with 2:45 left in the second. Billy Collins’ goal with 10:17 left in the game gave the Lumberjacks a cushion and Todd Robinson’s empty-netter with 1:10 to go iced it.

The Generals have played great hockey for two months, but that’s not enough time to overcome years of neglect, years of empty promises. When fans quit caring, they don’t even notice when things are going well, at least with the on-ice product.

The Generals aren’t even on the radar screen of most Flint-area fans these days. It makes you wonder what kind of turnout the Generals would get if they somehow come back against Muskegon and reach the Turner Cup Finals.

Given the resilience of this team, maybe we’ll get to find out. For those few die-hards who care, it would be nice to have a few more nights at Perani Arena before pro hockey in Flint becomes nothing but a memory.